Curtain and controlling means therefor



March 7, 1933.

G. A. WEIDHAAS ET AL ,900,677

CURTAIN AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR *Wwhk 1) ATTORNEY March 1933- G. A. WEIDHAAS ET AL 1,900,677

CURTAIN AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Dec. 4, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 a 117.8 fii BY, 7 D ATTOR-NEY Patented Mar. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUSTAV A. WEIDHAAS, OF BRONXVILLE, PETER CLARK, OF GREAT NECK, AND HOWARD V. HARDING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.; SAID CLARK AND SAID HARDING ASSIGNORS TO SAID WEIDHAAS CURTAIN AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR Application filed December 4, 1929. Serial No. 411,489.

This invention relates to improvements in a stage curtain controlling device, and it consists in the novel features, which are here-' inafter more fully described.

One of the objects herein is to provide a manually initiated power means for raising and lowering the stage curtain lines or cables, particularly in a stage curtain, such as described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,7 56,043, issued to Francis E. Weidhaas on April 29, 1930, for stage curtains or drops.

Another object of the present invention is to have said curtain controlling means controlled by a suitable switch board.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide on said switch board a means for indicating to the operator, on a reduced scale, the rise and fall of each curtain line or cable due to the manipulation of a part of said switch board appertaining thereto, thereby facilitating the control of said lines or cables, and the curtain contours, by the operator.

A still other object of the invention is to provide a means for enabling the operator to visualize in its entirety, or in one connected view the result of the raising and lowering of all the stage curtain lines .or cables by supplying him with a reduced motion device, operatively connected to said cable raising means, to indicate on a reduced scale, the changes produced in the stage curtain contours at the points of connection thereof to the lower ends of the cables.

Another object of the invention is to enable the operator of a stage curtain readily to produce a required draping of the stage curtain from a given diagram on a small scale.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

We attain these objects by the stage curtain controlling device, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, or by an mechanical equivalent or obvious modi cation of the same. I

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a stage curtain, of the class above mentioned, in its un-- draped condition, showing also the hoisting mechanisms for the lines or cables thereof, the switch board for controlling the same and the visual indicating means above referred to;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of said curtain in its draped condition, showing also the hoisting mechanisms of said lines or cables and the parts of said indicating means in a condition corresponding to the respective positions of said lines or cables, thereby illustrating on a small scale the required change in the outline of the lower edge of the stage curtain produced by the raising and lowering of said lines or cables;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation on a larger scale of one of the units of the stage curtain controlling device, consisting of a line hoisting machine and a motion reducing mechanism, operatively connected thereto;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the unit shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation, or view in the direction towards the stage, of the switch board and control panel of the stage curtain controlling device, showing the reverse side of said switch board and panel;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of said switch board and panel, looking from right to left in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a multiple switch operating pin block, to be employed in connection with the stage curtain controlling device;

Fig. 8 is a diagram of the electric connections of the motor, operating each curtain line and the corresponding'part of the switch board controlling the same;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail view in rear elevation showing two of the stage curtain rings secured to the curtain and acurtain line or cable'passing therethrough;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the line 1010 of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 11 is a detail in side elevation of the brake mechanism, which is hereinafter described.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views:

11 designates a stage curtain and 12 the lower edge thereof, which is loaded as described in the above copending application.

Cables 13 are connected each at the lower end thereof 13 to said edge 12 and pass each through rings 14, which are connected to said curtain 11 by means of strips 15, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, to be wound at the upper end thereof to a drum 16 of a hoisting machine actuated by a reversible electric motor 17.

Said strips 15 may be of leather or any other suitable material. and are stitched to said curtain as at 18 in Fig. 9, leaving therebetween and said curtain 11 sockets 19, for receiving therein said rings or links 14.

Individual motors 17 and drums 16 are employed as parts of a unit for each cable 13, and said units are positioned each on a base 20, which is secured to an overhead grid or platform 21.

Each motor has thereon a pair of terminal wires 22 and 23 and is operatively connected by means of a shaft 24 to suitable reduction gears, including a worm 25 and gear 26 and a pair of spur gears 27 and 28, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, by means of which motion is transmitted to the shaft 30 of each of said drums 16.

Said gears are enclosed in a box 29, and said shaft 30 has thereon at the. outer end thereof a mitre gear 31 in mesh with a similar gear 32 at one end of a spindle 33, which is rotatably mounted in bearings 34 and 35 and has thereon a screw 36, which rotates therewith.

A nut 37 is in engagement with said screw 36 and has thereon an eye 38 and a downwardly extending projection 39.

Said eye 38 has secured thereto one end of a flexible member 40, which passes over a pulley40, pivotally mounted on said bearing 34: the other end of said member 40 extends to and has connected thereto one of a series of motion indicating weight members 41 of a control panel 42 which is slotted, as shown, to movably receive and expose said weight members.

By means of said screw 36 and nut 37 motion is reduced from the cable 13 on said drum 16, thereby causing said weight member 41 to be raised and lowered through only a small fraction of the distance through which any point on the lower edge 12 of said curtain 11 is raised by one of said cables 13.

To take up the slack of said flexible members 40 we provide turnbuckles 62 thereon, as shown in Fig. 2.

Each of said members 41 corresponds to one of said cables 13, and the positions and displacements of all of said members 41 show at a glance and in one connected view the positions and displacements of all points 13 on said edge 12, thereby illustrating on a small scale the outline of said edge 12 of said curtain 11.

It is evident that. raising each of the members 41 any prescribed distance, as indicated by the ordinates of a g1ven diagram on a small scale, will cause said curtain 11 to be draped on a larger scale, to a shape corresponding to the same diagram.

The direction of motion and the starting and stopping of said members 41 is controlled by push buttons 43, 44 and 45, the first two of which control the starting electrical connections of said motor 17 and the accessories thereof, as hereinafter described and illustrated in Fig. 8.

Bypressing the buttons 43 said members 41 are raised; by pressing the buttons 44 said members 41 are lowered; and by pressing the buttons 45 the motion of said members 41 is quickly arrested and said members 41 are brought to a sudden stop,

At the extreme positions of said members 41 their motion is automatically discontinued by means of circuit breakers 46 and 47, which are connected to switches 48 and 49 respectively on the circuit of said motor 17 Each of the said circuit breakers 46 and 47 has the shape of a pivoted arm and is controlled by a spring, which is not shown in the drawings, which tends to turn said arm in a directionto close the circuit, and is turned in the opposite direction by said projection 39 on said nut 37 at the extreme positions thereof on'said screw 36, thereby breaking the circuit and thereby stoppin said motor 17 and arresting the motion 0% said screw 36, and thereby also bringing to a stop said nuts 37 and said members 41, until the direction of motion of said motor is reversed by the manipulation of said push buttons 43 and 44, as hereinbefore described.

To prevent the overtravel of said members 41 by momentum and to quickly stop the revolution of said motors 17 when said push button 45 is pressed we provide on each of said units a pair of brakes 50, which are pivotally connected at 53 to a stationary part on said unit to be applied to a friction drum 51 on said shaft 24, to be actuated by means of a solenoid 52 and a toggle joint 54, which is pivotally connected at the ends thereof at 5(5) to arms 56 at the outer ends of said brakes 5 A bolt 57 passes through said arms 56, with the head of said bolt abutting against one of said arms 56 exteriorly thereof; a compression spring 58 is interposed between the other of said arms 56 and a nut 59 on said bolt 57, thereby normally keeping said brakes 50 applied to said drum 51, to prevent the motion of said drum 17 The action of the solenoid 52 swings the arm 54 of said toggle joint 54 on its pivot 55 in a counter-clockwise direction in Fig. 11, thereby causing said toggle-joint 54 to turn said arms 56 in opposite directions on their pivots 53 in opposition to the force of said spring 58, thereby compressing said spring 58 against said nut 59 and thereby releasing said brakes 50 from said drum 51.

Said switch 48 has thereon a pair of terminal Wires 48 and 48; said switch 49 has thereon a pair of terminal wires 49 and 49 asshown in Fig. 3 and in the diagram in Fig. 8; said solenoid 52 has thereon a pair of terminal wires 52 and 52', which are in the circuit of said push button 45, which controls said solenoid.

Each of said push buttons 43, 44 and 45 i opposed by a suitable spring, positioned in an opening in said panel 42, thereby normally keeping open the circuits, controlled by said push buttons 43 and 44, and keeping closed the circuit, controlled by said push button 45, until said springs are compressed by the action of the operator pushing on said buttons.

In this way each of said push buttons 43 and 44 will only act to keep their respective circuits closed while the operator keeps his fingers thereon.

To operate a considerable number of said push buttons at the same time we provide a number of switch operating pins 60 so spaced on a block 61 that a desired number of said push buttons may be depressed by said pins 60 by one motion of the hand of the ope ator.

The electrical connections of each motor operating a curtain line and the corersponding part of the switch board are as follows Between a source of direct current 65, 66 (Fig. 8) and the reversible direct current motor 17 for each cable 13 there is interposed a single-throw 4-pole lowering switch assembly 68 and a similar single throw 4-pole raising switch assembly 68.

The lowering switch assembly 68 comprises a pair of main switches 69, 70, a field switch 71, a control or retaining switch 72, a slidable armature 73, connectedto the movable mem; bers of all the switches, a spring 74, connected to the armature 73, for yieldably opening the switches, and an electro-magnet 75, for at tracting the armature 73 to simultaneously close the switches.

Similarly, the raising switch assembly comprises a pair of main switches 69., 7 0, a field switch 71, a control switch 72, an armature 7 3, connected to the movable members of all the switches, a spring 74, connected to the armature 73 for yieldably opening the switches, and an electromagnet 75, for attracting the armature 7 3" to simultaneously close the switches. I

Conductors 77, 78, 7 8", conductcurrent from one terminal 66 of said source through the motor field coils to one member of each filed switch 71, 71 and conductors 81, 81 from the othenmembers of the field switches to the other terminal 65 of the source, whereby whenever either assembly is closed, current flows through the switch 71 or 71 and the fields become magnetized.

Conductors 85, 85 connect the main switches 69 and 70 of unlike sign and different assemblies to the same terminal 86 of the motor; and conductors 87, 87 connect the other main switches 70, 69 of unlike sign and different assemblies to the other terminal 89 of themotor, whereby when curtain raising assembly 68 is closed, the motor will turn in curtain raising direction, and when the other assembly 68 is closed, the motor will turn in the opposite direction. The brake releasing solenoid 52 is connected between the terminals 86, 89 of the motor, whereby the brake is released, whenever current is applied to the motor.

Conductors 90, 91,92, 92* conduct current through the yieldably closed button-operated stopping switch 45 to one terminal of each of the yeildably open button-operated raising and lowering switches 43, 44 and" through conductors 94*, 94 to the control switches 7 2, 72 respectively. Conductors 96, 97 conduct current from the other terminal of the lowering switch 44 through the lower automatic stopping switch 48 and the raising assembly solenoid 75' to the other terminal 66 of the source, whereby when the button-operated lowering switch is closed, the lowering solenoid isenergized, and the main, and control lowering switches 69. 70, 72 are closed, and current passes through the control switch 72 and the solenoid 75 to hold the lowering assembly 68 closed until one ofthe automatic stopping switches 48 or the switch 45 is opened. to break the current through the solenoid 75, to permit the spring 74 to open the assembly 68, to cut ofi' the motor, deenergize solenoid 52, apply the brake and stop the motor.

Conductors 96 97 conduct current from the other terminal of the raising switch 43 through the upper automatic stopping switch 49 and the raising assembly solenoid 75 to the other terminal 66 of the source, whereby, when the button-operated raising switch is closed, the raising solenoid is energized and the main and control switches 69, 72 are closed and current passes through the control switch 72 and the solenoid 75 to hold the raising assembly 68 closed to raise the line until one of the switches 45 or 49 is opened, thus permitting the spring 7 4 to open the assembly 68 cut oil the current from the motor and from the brake solenoid 52, thereby to apply .the brake and stop the motor.

Many changes may be made in the details of the stage curtain controlling device without departing from the main scope of the invention, and parts of the invention may be used without other arts.

We do not, there ore, restrict the device to the details as shown in the drawings, but intend to include also all mechanical equivalents and obvious modifications of the same which may be within the scope of our invention.

We claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1'. In a stage curtain controlling device a curtain, lines connected thereto, means for hoisting and lowering said lines, motion indicating members and a means for reducing the motion from said lines to said members.

2. In a stage curtain controlling device a curtain, lines, connected thereto, winding drums, for hoisting and lowering said lines, a reversible electric motor, for intermittently driving each of said drums, thereby hoisting and lowering said lines, a circuit on said motor, one or more switches in said circuit, controlled by push buttons, for causing said motor to revolve in a desired direction when one of said buttons is being pushed, a motor shaft, a friction wheel thereon and an electrically controlled brake to contact with said wheel, controlled by a push button, for preventing the overrunning of each of said drums by the motor driving the same.

'3. In a stage curtain controlling device a curtain, lines connected thereto, winding drums, for hoisting and lowering said lines, power means for driving said drums, revolvably mounted screws, operatively connected to said drums, nuts in mesh therewith, to be moved thereby lengthwise thereof, flexible members connected to said nuts, and motion indicating members, secured to said flexible members, said screws and nuts reducing the motion from said lines to said members.

4. In a stage curtain controlling device a curtaln, lines connected thereto, winding drums, for hoisting and lowering said lines, reversible electric motors, for driving said drums, a control panel, electrically connected to sald motors, motion indicating members thereon, positioned in view of the operator, a means for proportionally reducing the motion from said lines to said members, push buttons on said panel, to be depressed by the operator, thereby causing said motors to re volve in one direction, and other push buttons on said panels, to be depressed by the operator, thereby causing said motors to revolve in the opposite direction, said push buttons being positioned on said panel within reach of the operator viewing the displacement of said indicating members.

5. In a stage curtain controlling device a curtain, lines connected thereto, Winding drums, for hoistin and lowering said lines, an electric motor, or intermittently driving each of said drums, an electric circuit on said motor, a double switch, for reversing said circuit, a solenoid, for throwing said switch in one way, to cause said motor to revolve in one direction, another solenoid, for throwing said switch in the opposite way, to cause said motor to revolve in the opposite direction, and control means within reach of the operator, for actuating each of said solenoids, thereby starting the rotation of said motors in either direction.

6. In a stage curtain controlling device a curtain, lines, connected thereto, winding drums, for hoisting and lowering said lines, an electric motor, for intermittently driving each of said drums, an electric circuit on said motor, a revolvably mounted screw, operatively connected to each of said drums, a nut in mesh with said screw, a flexible member, connected at one end thereof to said nut, a motion indicating member, secured to the other end of said flexible member, said screw and nut reducing the motion from said lines to said indicating members, an arm, pivotally mounted at each end ofisaid screw, to be deflected by a part on said nut at its extreme position at each end of said screw, a switch in said circuit, normally closed and to be opened by said arm when the latter is deflected, and a means for returning said arm to its normal position when said arm is released by said part.

7. A stage curtain controlling device comprising a curtain, lines connected thereto, means for hoisting and lowering said lines, motion indicating members, means for reducing'the motion from said lines to said members and manually operated selective means for controlling the action of said hoisting means in either direction and to stop said hoisting means.

8. In a curtain controlling device, a curtain having a loaded bottom,'lines connected with said curtain, means for moving said lines, motion indicating members, and means for reducing the motion from said lines to said members.

9. A curtain controlling apparatus comprising in combination a revolvable drum, a cable terminally mounted on said drum for moving a curtain, a panel, an electric circuit including a motor for revolving said drum, circuit control means carried by said panel, and means associated with said motor and said panel for indicating on the latter the curtain movement.

10. A-curtain controlling apparatus comprising in combination a revolvable drum having a curtain moving cable thereon. a panel, an electric circ'u1t including a reversible motor for revolving said drum, control switches for said motor on said panel. and a flexible element having one terminal movably associated with said motor and having its opposite terminal mounted on said panel, whereby to indicate the curtain movement.

11. In combination, acurtain controlling apparatus comprising a revolvable drum having a curtain moving cable thereon, a shaft whereon said drum is rigidly carried, a. threaded shaft revolvable by said first shaft, means axially movable on said threaded shaft during its rotation, an electric circuit incuding a reversible motor for revolving said first shaft, a panel, a'control switch for said motor on said panel, and curtain movement indicating means, said latter means including a flexible element having one terminal movably mounted on said panel, and a second terminal of said element attached to said first means whereby to move said first terminal.

12. A curtain controlling device comprising in combination a revolvable drum for receiving a curtain moving cable, a shaft rigid- 1y carrying said drum and having a gear thereon, a threaded shaft having a gear in mesh with said first gear; a. slotted panel; an electric circuit including a motor for revolving said first shaft, control means for said motor on said panel; and means for indicating movement of the curtain; said latter means having a nut mounted on said threaded shaft for axial movement, a flexible element having one of its terminals attached to said nut, and means carried by the other end of said nut and disposed in a slot of said paneL e5 13. The combination with a movable curtain having a loaded bottom, and means for moving said curtain, of a slotted panel, control means for said first means carried by said panel, and curtain movement indicating 40 means including a flexible element having one end associated with said first means, and a loaded end of said elementvisibly disposed in a slot of said panel.

Signed at New York in the county of Bronx and State of New York this 30th day'of November, A. D. 1929.

GUSTAV A. WEIDHAAS. PETER CLARK.

HOWARD V. HARDING. 5o 

